Carbon monoxide scare sends 8 to hospital

Calgary fire officials says a near tragedy in the city’s south east Monday morning highlights the importance of carbon monoxide detectors.

More than a dozen people were forced from their duplex on the 2800 block of 12th Ave. S.E. around 5 a.m. MT after a man called 911, complaining of an extreme headache.

None of the homes in the duplex have a CO detector.

"If the occupant had not woken up when he did, the outcome for himself and his family could have been much more tragic," according to a Calgary Fire Department news release.

Paramedics treated people at the scene and took eight to hospital as a precaution.

Fire crews found carbon monoxide readings above 500 parts per million, 20 times the acceptable level.

The toxic gas is odourless, colourless and tasteless.  It can build up in homes when furnace ducts or filters get blocked.

The cause of the CO leak remains under investigation.